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About The Love of My Youth

Miranda and Adam, high school sweethearts now in their late fifties, arrive by chance at the same time in Rome, a city where they once spent a summer deeply in love. At an awkward reunion, Adam suggests that they meet for daily walks and get to know each other again. Both have their own sense of who betrayed whom and long-held interpretations of the events that caused them not to part. But gradually, as they take in the pleasures of the city and the drama of its streets, they discover not only what matters to them now but also what happened to them long ago. From acclaimed author Mary Gordon, TheLove of My Youth is a poignant look at first love, at the hopes and dreams of a generation, and at what became of them.

About The Love of My Youth

From the acclaimed author of Pearl and Final Payments comes a beautifully choreographed novel about first lovers meeting again after more than thirty years and reimmersing themselves in their shared past.

Miranda and Adam, high-school sweethearts now in their late fifties, arrive by chance at the same time in Rome, a city where they once spent a summer deeply in love, living together blissfully. At an awkward reunion, the two—who parted in an atmosphere of passionate betrayal in the 1960s and haven’t seen each other since—are surprised to discover that they may have something to talk about. Both have their own guilt, their sense of who betrayed whom, and their long-held interpretation of the events that caused them not to marry and to split apart into the lives they’ve led since—both are married to others, with grown children. For the few weeks they are in Rome, Adam suggests that they meet for daily walks and get to know each other again. Gradually, as they take in the pleasures of the city and the drama of its streets, they discover not only what matters to them now but also more about what happened to them long ago.

Miranda and Adam are masterfully portrayed characters, intent upon understanding who they are in relation to who they were. A story about what first love means and how it is shattered, and the lessons old lovers may still have to share with each other many years later, The Love of My Youth is also a poignant look back at the hopes and dreams of a generation and what became of them.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Praise

“Emotionally engaging and smoothly flowing, The Love of My Youth showcases Gordon’s power to write with controlled urgency, without dissembling or exaggeration, to reveal truths that are hard to face in the unsparing light of day, but without which we could not see ourselves as we are.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Entrancing. . . . Gordon deftly awakens the strain of regret and desire that we too feel as we watch old loves and old selves recede.”—Los Angeles Times

“Vivid. . . . Not so much a romance as a reckoning. . . . Gordon crafts a story layered with wise insights, and gives it a picture-postcard setting that lovers of Italy will delight in.”—The Seattle Times

“Evocative. . . . A travelogue through time, as well as through some of Rome’s most beautiful spaces, Gordon’s novel dangles out the fantasy of the faultlessly executed second chance. . . . An enchanting read.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s “Fresh Air”

“Gordon writes of the affection and wistfulness one has looking at the self growing smaller in the rearview mirror. And as a soulful and spiritual writer, she is in many ways just the person to write such a book. . . . The Love of My Youth provides us a nice leisurely space to wander—and wonder.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Gordon’s art in capturing the social and political texture of the [1960s] brings the story alive. . . . Armchair travelers will find much to enjoy.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Intricately realized. . . . Gordon’s evocation of thoughtful college students in the late ’60s (her own college era) is exceptionally nuanced and convincing.”—The Atlantic

“Gordon is sensitive to the subtlest differences of class and religion, and the most satisfying aspects of TheLove of My Youth are Gordon’s interpretations of how the differences in Adam and Miranda’s backgrounds impact their relationship. The novel is also filled with small resonating details, from the architectural beauties of urban Rome to Adam and Miranda’s anxious glimpses of their aging bodies in front of hotel mirrors. The Love of My Youth is as much about how we feel about our past and the choices we made and make, as it is about the love story between two young people.”—BookPage

“Even if first love isn’t as rosy for most people as it was for Miranda and Adam, Gordon was definitely on to something when she shaped The Love of My Youth around that concept. For surely there is no one more likely than the love of your youth to remind you of everything you hoped to become.”—The Associated Press

“Virtuoso and versatile Gordon offers brilliantly fresh takes on family conflicts, women’s lives, war, and global suffering while ingeniously meshing classic love stories with modern mores, and ecstasy with wisdom, to create an enthralling drama of innocent passion, crushing tragedy, and the careful construction of stable, nurturing lives.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Thoughtful and moving, Gordon’s latest captures the ardor and vulnerability of young love and the cautious circumspection of middle age.”—Publishers Weekly

About Mary Gordon

Mary Gordon is the author of seven novels, including Final Payments, Pearl, and The Love of My Youth; six works of nonfiction, including the memoirs The Shadow Man and Circling My Mother; and three collections of fic­tion, including The Stories… More about Mary Gordon

About Mary Gordon

Mary Gordon is the author of seven novels, including Final Payments, Pearl, and The Love of My Youth; six works of nonfiction, including the memoirs The Shadow Man and Circling My Mother; and three collections of fic­tion, including The Stories… More about Mary Gordon